Hardball (1989 TV series)
Encyclopedia
Hardball is an American crime drama
television series that ran on NBC
during the 1989-1990 television schedule.
genre that focused on two cops, Charlie "C.B." Battles (John Ashton
) and Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski (Richard Tyson
). Battles is a 45-year-old hard-nosed veteran cop who is forced to take a desk job or retire. Battles is soon assigned a new partner, the 25-year old hotshot Kaczierowski who follows his own set of rules when dealing with criminals. The pair are soon at odds over their respective methods of law enforcement.
NBC
President Brandon Tartikoff
saw this series as inspired by the Lethal Weapon
films and Battles was patterned after Pete Rose
.
and Frank Lupo
.
and Eddie Money
. Money also performed the tune.
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
television series that ran on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
during the 1989-1990 television schedule.
Synopsis
Hardball is a variation of the buddy copBuddy cop film
The "buddy cop" is a subgenre of buddy films and crime films with plots involving two men of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process...
genre that focused on two cops, Charlie "C.B." Battles (John Ashton
John Ashton (actor)
John David Ashton is an American actor born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduate of the University of Southern California School of Theatre.John Ashton attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut....
) and Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski (Richard Tyson
Richard Tyson
Richard Martin Tyson is an American actor.-Biography:His most prominent role was as the villain Cullen Crisp, Sr. in Kindergarten Cop co-starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also starred as high school bully Buddy Revell in the 1987 comedy Three O'Clock High...
). Battles is a 45-year-old hard-nosed veteran cop who is forced to take a desk job or retire. Battles is soon assigned a new partner, the 25-year old hotshot Kaczierowski who follows his own set of rules when dealing with criminals. The pair are soon at odds over their respective methods of law enforcement.
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
President Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Knight Rider, The A-Team, St...
saw this series as inspired by the Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
films and Battles was patterned after Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
.
Cast
- John Ashton as Charlie "C.B." Battles
- Richard Tyson as Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski
- John Pappas as Pappas
- Barney McFadden as Ballantine
Production notes
The series was created by Robert Palm and executive produced by John AshleyJohn Ashley (actor)
John Ashley was an actor who appeared in many films, most notably the American International Pictures' "Beach Party" films...
and Frank Lupo
Frank Lupo
Frank Lupo is an American television writer and producer. In collaboration with Stephen J. Cannell, Lupo created such shows as The A-Team, Riptide, Wiseguy and Hunter....
.
Theme song
The series' theme song "Roll It Over", was written by Sylvester LevaySylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay is a Hungarian composer. He was born 16 May 1945 in Subotica , in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia ; his name is pronounced in English similarly to "lave-ah-ee."...
and Eddie Money
Eddie Money
Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...
. Money also performed the tune.
Season 1
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Till Death Do Us Part" (Pilot) | September 21, 1989 |
| 2 | "The Silver Scream" | September 28, 1989 |
| 3 | "The One Armed Bandit" | October 13, 1989 |
| 4 | "Which Witch Is Witch?" | October 27, 1989 |
| 5 | "The Cleveland Indian" | November 3, 1989 |
| 6 | "The Fighting 52nd" | November 10, 1989 |
| 7 | "Time Bomb" | November 17, 1989 |
| 8 | "Trying to Make a Living, and Doing the Best That I Can" | November 24, 1989 |
| 9 | "The Out of Towner" | December 1, 1989 |
| 10 | "The Cool Katt" | April 20, 1990 |
| 11 | "The Angel of Death" | April 27, 1990 |
| 12 | "A Killer Date" | May 4, 1990 |
| 13 | "A Death in the Family" | May 11, 1990 |
| 14 | " Sex, Cops, and Videotape" | May 18, 1990 |
| 15 | "Wedding Bell Blues" | June 1, 1990 |
| 16 | "Prescription for Murder" | June 8, 1990 |
| 17 | "Every Dog Has His Day" | June 22, 1990 |
| 18 | "The Hunt for Honus Wagner" | June 29, 1990 |